Chapter Eighteen

   FIVE MONTHS LATER

🎶Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!! Happy birthday to you Tessa!!! Happy birthday to you🎶.

People sang for Tessa in her humble home. Actually, it was a surprise party for her because she invited no one to her house.

🎶For she is a jolly good fellow! For she is a jolly good fellow. For she is a jolly good fellow! And so says all of us…. Hurray!!!🎶

Kim took the lead and sang for her best friend. Zavier had not come yet from New York. He left a week ago with Cole for some unknown business. Raphael left the country to New Jersey to start a new life. Ryan is in his aunt's (Vivian) place. She is in a relationship with her boss.

She finally revealed the man that stole her heart at the last meeting. Tessa was also surprised to see that he was her boyfriend's elder brother. She had gotten a new hairstyle. Her hair was in curls and Zavier hadn't seen her.

She prefers her new hairstyle to her former hair style. She is now looking much more beautiful compared to the last time. She had been speaking to Zavier via facetime. She had strictly told him not to be bewitched by the beauty of any foreign girl over there and he had responded positively.

"Oh God! I can't believe this", Tessa smiled and accepted the flowers her friends gave to her.

"Thank you so so much. Thank you! I feel special", Tessa said happily and hugged her friends one after the other.

"I'd rather shake you", Luke said and they laughed. "What if someone makes a video and sends it to your boyfriend. I have a girlfriend you know", he added and they bursted into laughter.

"Where's Ryan?", Kim asked and Tessa told her that he's not yet back.

"So, what's poppin? You look like a fresh girl?", Kim said and Tessa smiled. "I'm always fresh", she replied.

"Not that. I can see that Zavier is taking good care of you. Anything you've done with him before?", Kim asked and Tessa smiled.

"Of course. We've kissed a lot", Tessa replied and Kim sighed in annoyance.

"I can't believe this is coming from you O virgin", Kim sang like a pro. "I mean, have you ever gone above that? Like pleasing him romantically", She explained and Tessa opened her mouth to speak.

"Let me guess. You haven't. Oh God!", she face palmed herself.

"It's alright. I know you're a virgin and I ain't one cause we still did it before coming ", Kim said and Tessa was shocked.

"What? You too fucked?!", she exclaimed.

"Yeah! In the car", Kim replied proudly. "It was great, girl. I love him", Kim went on and Tessa covered her ears.

"You have to hear this even if you don't want to. I know momma asked you to keep it till wedding night and that's good cause I got no mama", Kim said, flaunting her hair.

"So, did it hurt?", Tessa asked.

"Just a little but you'll enjoy it. Wait till wedding night babe", Kim stated and Tessa began thinking.

"Stop thinking dirty! I know you're thinking about that. Dirty minded girl", Kim declared and laughed. Tessa laughed with her because she got it correct. She may be innocent but she's dirty minded. She thinks dirty a lot and knows a lot of dirty things.

The party went on with lots of games, karaoke, food, gifts, music and many more.

"I like Tessa because of her fat ass", Damon revealed during a game named 'Speak The Truth'.

"I liked Tessa because of her pretty face", Luke said.

"I also like Tessa because of her ass and shape ", Fred revealed.

"I never liked Tessa from the very beginning ", Simon said and they laughed.

"Why?", they asked.

"Cause she's too pretty ", he replied and they laughed.

"I like Tessa cause she's the best", Kim said her own information and they smiled.

"I like Tessa because she's Tessa"

"I like Tessa because of Zavier"

"I like Tessa because of her boyfriend. They're perfect together "

"I like Tessa because of her voice. I love ..I just love her guys", another said and they laughed.

Food was served shortly after the games and they danced to some music. Ryan had called her earlier to wish her a happy birthday. His cousin also wished her.

Meanwhile

🏥AT THE HOSPITAL 🏥

Olivia laid lifelessly on the bed and held her husband's hand weakly. She had called Austin to tell him of her current condition. He had been down when hearing it from his father's mouth. He could also see that his father had changed a lot. They made the money but what's money without happiness?

Her mom has said not to tell Tessa anything until it's the right time. Right now, Tessa should be left alone to enjoy her day.

"Tell Ryan I love him, Mark", Olivia said weakly and threw up black blood on the already stained bed. Mark quickly cleaned her lips with a clean tissue paper and threw it into the bin.

He wiped his tears as she spoke painfully. "Tell them not to ever smoke, Mark. Tell them that health is wealth. Tell them to listen to advice and act accordingly. Tell them to follow their hearts and not the crowd", she wept and threw up more blood.

"Lastly, tell them I love them", she said and gave up the ghost.

'Pim.Pim.Pim….piiiiiiiiii', the machine sounded as soon as she died. Mark screamed and rushed out of the ward to call the doctor to bring his wife back.

"She hasn't finished talking. Wake her up!!!", he yelled and held the collar of the doctor. The doctor consoled him but it got worse.

"Shut up!! She's not dead. I know she's pretending so you have to wake her up!!", he shouted and the nurses bowed their heads in sympathy.

"We care, Mr. Lopez but only Him can cure", the doctor said and Mark ran his hand over his hair and bursted into hot tears. He walked dejectedly to his wife and hugged her lifeless body painfully.

All the medical practitioners went out to give him some privacy. They decided to give him ten minutes so they could come back to discuss the body with him.

Mark ignored the call he was getting on his wife's phone and cried even more when he saw that it was Ryan calling. It was a video call and that made him cry more.

'Is he meant to show his dead mother to him or lie to the poor boy', he asked himself and wept sorrowfully.

•4:15pm [Melanin''s Airport]•

Zavier walked out of the plane and ignored the flirty eyes the air attendant was giving him as he descended the plane. He had gone for business and had tried so much to seal the deal for his girlfriend because she had wanted it for him.

He had been recognized as a brand ambassador for a game. A popular game among the gen z community. Tessa had fallen in love with the game and had registered to be nominated as a badass but the criteria fitted in was for the males so she signed up her boyfriend.

Zavier got the deal and could only wait to tell her. Austin had called him to announce the death of his mother. He had ordered him not to tell his sister yet cause it will break her. He told her to tell her after some days because that day is a special day for her and any bad event that takes place will have a toll on her life forever.

He wore his glasses and got into his car. Cole also got into his car to drive to his house. Damn, they were freaking tired. It took them twelve long hours to get back to their country. Zavier quickly drove to his girlfriend's house while thinking of some things in his poor mind.

"Hi!!", Tessa jumped on him as soon as she saw him outside the door.

"You should have called. I'd have picked you up", she pouted and he kissed her temple.

"That's why I didn't call. Happy birthday once again. You don't look twenty to me though", he said and went inside the house.

"That's what my mom also says. My mom is unpredictable", she laughed and Zavier stood in a spot. He suddenly felt guilty as she smiled when talking about her mom.

"Babe?", she shook him. "What's wrong? You okay?" she asked and he nodded, holding her hand.

"So, what do you notice?", she did a spin and smiled widely.

"You stole my hair color", he laughed and she chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, love. We don't look like twins. I look like your younger sister", she replied and he frowned.

"Are you calling me old?", he asked and pulled her to sit on his lap.

"W-what? You're just perfect. I'm just joking though", she replied and he placed his head on her back.

"You're burning up. How was the agreement over there?"

"I got the deal", he said calmly and she shrieked out excitedly.

"I love you ", she kissed him all over on his face as he blushed.

"What do you want from me? Anything?", she asked excitedly and he grinned.

"Anything?", he asked and she responded, "Anything apart from sex"

He laughed and said, "Sing me a lullaby while I sleep"

Tessa stared at him with unbelief. Did he just say that?

"I'm serious Zavier. You're playing with me", she hissed.

"I'm serious Tess. I'm tired and I want to sleep. By the way, I'll give you your birthday gift when I wake up", he said and pulled her up to the bedroom to sleep.

His eyes were already heavy with sleep. He managed to reach her with a little determination from his spirit; if not, he would have gone to sleep in a hotel.

Tessa stroked his hair and began singing softly. Her touch was divine on his scalp and he loved every movement she made on his head. He was smiling sweetly as she sang for him.

Tessa was surprised when he unbuttoned his shirt revealing his chest and abs.

"You're supposed to be sleeping Zavier", Tessa complained and he smiled.

"Should I take my shirt off completely then? I think I'll feel much more comfortable with my shirt off", he replied and she smacked his head.

"I'll leave so you can take your shirt off", she said and he laughed.

She continued singing while he dozed off on the bed. She reduced the temperature of the air conditioner and turned on the darker bulb in the room and left quietly to attend to other things.

She went to the kitchen to wash the dishes her friends used. She wore her gloves and turned on the tap to wash. She removed her gloves and tied up her hair into a loose bun that looked like it would fall down any moment. She hummed softly and washed the dishes.

She took a peek into the refrigerator and sighed. She had not gone to restock the refrigerator. She took off the glove and returned it to its place. She went into her room to take the card to buy the groceries. She looked at the long list she was going to buy and sighed.

She can't wait for Zavier to help her with it because he's sleeping and she dare not wake him up. She'll be a bad person if she does that and she can't. She wore her fluffy rabbit slippers. That is her favorite slippers for the time being.

Zavier got that for her as a gift for answering a question. Ms. Adams, the biology teacher, had wanted to humiliate her for correcting her in the class earlier. So, she called her to Zavier's class to answer some questions.

She even went as far as asking her to draw a rare animal and label it accordingly. Tessa had cursed her but when she saw Zavier, she had been willing to answer it correctly without making a mistake. Although she was nervous to answer the question, she did get it right because everyone clapped for her except Ms. Adams.

She was later forced to celebrate when everyone was supporting her. Tessa had seen the look in Zavier's face and knew he was proud of her. That day, he gave her his card to buy anything she wanted as a reward. Damon and Simon had come to help her spend some money claiming that she didn't know how to spend money.

That day was a good day for her. She can't ever forget that day. Also, there was a day she had a big fight with Zavier. The fight was caused by his ex-girlfriend. She had her bulge out then and her boyfriend, Orlando, had been fighting with her lately.

She ran to Zavier claiming that he should help her. Tessa had gotten angry. She had said that Lina was looking for an excuse to get back with Zavier but Zavier didn't see it as such. But as time went on, they grew apart because of Lina. When Zavier realized what was really happening, he told Lina to solve the case herself 'cause he wasn't interested anymore.

Lina had begged and begged but he refused. Not knowing that she had fought with Tessa before coming to him for help. She had called Tessa a gold digger and Tessa had kept quiet. It was later that Zavier got to know from Cole that they had a quarrel.

It took a long while for Tessa to forgive him. He was coming to her house to plead with her but she paid no attention to him. She didn't talk to him for a whole week. When he would come to her house, she wouldn't even open the door for him to come in and helplessly saw him kneeling at her entrance.

She couldn't go on like that so she forgave him. They haven't fought since then because their communication is great. But, Zavier gets jealous every single day when other boys will stare at her and have the audacity to ask her out behind his back.

She walked out of the house with her umbrella over her head. The rain began unexpectedly so she had to use an umbrella.

"Hi!", she greeted her one time crush at the supermarket. He was her crush since junior school but she moved on to another boy, then to another and to another.

"Hi! How're you?" the boy asked her and she replied smiling.

"The usual. I just added some stuff to it", she said and gave him the list of items she'll buy.

"Oh! You're lucky that you're kinda early. They just brought that veggies", he pointed to a side and she followed his direction with her eyes.

"That's nice", she smiled and watched him get the stuff she came to buy.

"So, do you have a girlfriend now?" Tessa asked as she hopped from one foot to another. The boy looked at her, trying to figure out what she's trying to do but couldn't.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you single?"

"Why do you ask? You wanna be my girlfriend?" the boy asked, laughing.

"It's just a damn question Ed", Tessa rolled her eyes.

"What about you?", Ed said and selected some fresh products from the shelf.

"Me?" Tessa asked and he nodded. "I've got a boyfriend. Don't you know? Wait! Don't tell me…y-you haven't seen him, have you?", she said in a breath and he bit his lips.

"I didn't know you weren't single ", Ed replied.

"So, are you?"

"I had a girlfriend then but she left", Ed said and Tessa rubbed his shoulder.

"Left? Let me guess she went to another country. She might return though", Tessa remarked and he laughed.

"She died Tess. She ain't coming back", he said sadly.

"I'm so sorry", Tessa touched her chest and consoled him. "I shouldn't have asked", she muttered and he smiled at her.

"That'll be $3000", Ed said and handed her a paper.

She eyed him and he laughed. "I didn't cheat you Tess. You're ridiculous if you think I'll do that", he said.

"You can cheat me Ed. Don't forget you fooled me once", she said.

"It was just $50", he reminded her.

The doorbell jingled as another customer walked in. Samuel had a cigarette in his mouth as he looked pissed off.

"No smoking please", Ed bellowed and Samuel took out the cigar from his lips. His gaze softened as soon as he saw Tess.

Ed returned Tessa's card and handed her five bags containing groceries and other products.

"I was wondering who'll help you with the bags but it seems like Samuel came along to help you with that", Ed smiled as Samuel glared at him.

"Get me a pack of aspirin and a pack of cigarettes", Samuel said and Ed refused to sell a pack of cigarettes to him.

"What the fuck are you saying?", Samuel asked.

"Smoking kills", Ed replied.

"I know that and that is written on the pack. I'm not an illiterate Edward. I can read. Just sell me the fucking cigarettes and let us be on our way", Samuel responded.

A loud thunder bellowed and Tessa grabbed Samuel as if he was her shield.

"Grow up Tess. You're now twenty", Ed laughed.

"I should buy you a gift Tess. What do you want?", Samuel asked Tessa. Tessa smiled widely and went to take a fancy water bottle.

"I'm serious", Samuel whined.

"That's what she wants", Ed said.

"I was taking to Tessa Mr. Head-World", Samuel responded.

"Thank you Sam", Tessa appreciated and waited for Samuel to pay for all the stuff they bought. Samuel did help her with the bags. She held two bags with her left hand and Samuel held the umbrella with his left hand because he's way taller than her. He also kept his pack of cigarettes and aspirin in his trousers pocket. He carried the remaining three bags with his right hand.

They spoke on the way as the rain poured on the earth. Thunders were echoing and people stayed indoors to avoid the heavy rain that poured. The chilly wind made Tessa's skin tingle under her clothes and right now, she knows that her nipples are damn hard. But, thank goodness she's wearing a thick jacket that won't make them see it.

The cold made her nipples grow hard. Girls stuff, you know. Samuel dropped the bag by her doorstep and waited.

"What?", Tessa had to ask because he wasn't leaving.

"Won't you give me anything to thank me? Or would you welcome me in?", he asked with a smile.

"Another time Sam. Thank you once again. Love you", she said and got into her house. Samuel sighed as the door slammed on his face.

He rubbed his arms to provide warmth and left hurried with a cigar in his lips.

•••••••••••••••••

Vivian sat in a corner in the room and cried silently. Her brother in law just called to inform her of the death of her sister. Her dearest sister, Olivia. They are just two. Abuela gave birth to two children - Olivia and Vivian. She cried more as beautiful memories began flooding into her head.

"I'm going to live more than Mr. Tortoise, Vivian", Olivia had said on a vacation. Their mum and father had taken them to a park that day and the tour guide was telling them facts and important information about the place.

Her sister didn't keep her promise. She didn't live up to fifty years and now she's gone. Fifty years!!! The tortoise lived up to fifty years and her sister didn't live up to that. Vivian broke down into tears. Her phone had fallen down from her hand when she got information from Mark.

She looked at the phone on the floor and sobbed more. Yes, Olivia made more than ten million dollars but where is she? How will she enjoy that money? How? Where? In the grave?

Raymond came into the room and bent down beside her. He pulled her into a hug as she wept.

"It's okay. I also heard from Abuela", Ray said softly.

"You don't understand Ray", Vivian said, breaking down into tears.

"I do love, I do", he muttered. He patted her back as she wet his shirt with her tears.

"My head hurts. My heart hurts. I want to see Olivia. I want to see my sister", she screamed out suddenly but Raymond held her back.

"We are going for her burial very soon", Raymond said and a tear fell from her eye.

"Her buried? Is she really dead? Tessa? Ryan? A-Austin?", she asked and Raymond replied her that Austin knows about her death.

"Tessa?", she hiccuped and he patted her back.

"The rest are not meant to know yet. That was her wish", Raymond replied.

"Oh God! What do I tell her?", Vivian ran a hand through her hair.

Just then, Angelo walked in with Ryan. "Mama? Are you okay? Why are you crying?", Angelo asked on behalf of himself and Ryan.

Vivian's heart was torn when she looked at Ryan's cute face. How can she lie to him? But for now, that's the best thing to do. Just a simple lie.

"Mum is very happy that she heard a great news", Vivian replied, wiping her tears.

"Papa?", Angelo called out.

"That's true", Raymond supported his girlfriend.

"But if it's great news, you're supposed to be smiling. Was that an irony or what?", Ryan looked at his cousin and they laughed.

Vivian looked at the boys that were laughing heartily. Had it been she told them the truth, they would be crying by now.

"I'm hungry mama", Angelo announced.

"Mama's coming Angelo", Raymond spoke on behalf of his girlfriend who smiled weakly at him.

The two boys went out to play. "Can you order something for them? I can't step into that kitchen now. Not today. I'm sorry", she wiped her tears and Raymond kissed her forehead softly and walked out to follow her order.